


Compatible Hearts

by connorly (sonic_m)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Broken marriage, Crying, DBH, Deviants (Detroit: Become Human), Fluff, Jealousy, Kissing, Love, M/M, Post-Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Pregnancy, Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Romance, Short Story, Stabbing, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human), m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-10 00:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15279996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonic_m/pseuds/connorly
Summary: Six months have passed since the peaceful android revolution has swept over America. Time and shared strife have brought each member of Jericho closer together.In a moment of peace and curiosity, Markus finally asks Simon,"Where were you before Jericho?"





	Compatible Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This idea literally came to me at 11 pm last night, and I HAD to finish it in one sitting. It only took 5 hours (and some hasty reediting the next morning) for this to come to life. Details just sort of came to me as I wrote, and this piece was kind of a journey for me as well as you guys! I'm actually pretty proud of this one, I really hope you guys like this take on Simon's backstory.
> 
> Spoilers!!!

The cloudless sky carried with it a frigid wind as it boasted a bright hue of blue. It was a bright Saturday morning, the air slick with the scent of distantly blooming flowers. There was a high of 59 degrees and a 30% chance of thunderstorms in the evening.

These fruitless statistics rolled through Markus’ mind every day around nine, just after the sun began to rise. They didn’t matter to him: he didn’t feel temperature and he was well beyond waterproof. It was a habit. The facts reminded him of the first person he ever loved, and the first person he truly lost.

He rested at the stern of Jericho, on a metal plank that reached out beyond the brown, dusty wasteland far below where he sat. His feet dangled over the edge- he was at least fifty feet above the ground. It made him feel weightless, and the quietness made him feel truly alone. His eyes were closed as fond memories crossed his mind.

On bright early mornings like this, Carl called the breeze “crisp like Autumn,” which made Markus smile because it was crisp like spring as well; walks through flowery neighborhoods paired with the low passionate drivel that Carl was prone to, along with the wind that registered a small _whirr_ in his audio component all pushed to the forefront of Markus’ mind. The memories warmed him but made his heart heavy. _If only he’d found a way to de-escalate things with Leo, Carl never would’ve felt the stress that stopped his heart._ Futile what-ifs were an endeavor that Markus hadn’t yet learned to stop chasing.

The whirring of the wind picked up, and Markus opened his eyes again. His future had been altered that day, for better or worse. Jericho was free. He had a new family-- a chosen family-- and the four of them spent each day carving the meaning of freedom out of the messy idea of equal rights that Markus had begun to build. It was difficult. Times like these allowed him to isolate his thoughts.

The quietness of the air gave way to dull footsteps that approached slowly behind him. There was only one other member of Jericho that would be awake at this hour. Knowing exactly who he was, Markus stayed still.

“You’re up early today.” His voice was smooth and glossy, calm and unoffending. A familiar feeling of warmth returned to Markus.

“Yes, well… you know how I like to be alone with my thoughts sometimes,” Markus responded, smiling out of view. His front still faced the outward sky. He felt steady steps on the wobbly strip of titanium behind him, followed by a soft _thump._ Markus turned his body around in response, still sitting and letting a leg dangle from either side of the metal plank.

Simon sat in front of him, cross-legged. A tame grin spread across his face, the still-rising sun illuminating his features. Strands of blonde hair turned frosty when they caught the light, but each remained in its place. Nothing about Simon was ever far from completely put together. His eyes distracted Markus from his face though; they were a color so vibrant that when they saw the light, they seemed to glow on their own. A pastel mix of both greens and blues, they glimmered in the ever moving sun.

“I don’t mean to interrupt. But the morning is always so… boring. I needed someone to talk to,” he said, lips curving further upwards. Creases formed in the outer corners of his face whenever he smiled.

“That’s interesting to hear from someone who gets up at six every morning. You must get bored often,” Markus remarked, watching the stare of his friend as it followed the sunrise behind him. Simon let out a chuckle, light and feathery.

“I can’t help it! I always stop charging around that time, and I don’t know why. I guess old habits die hard,” he said, eyes concentrating harder on the blue sky behind Markus. Curiosity bubbled inside of Markus as he uncovered the gaps in his understanding of Simon.

“Old habits, huh?” Markus said, catching Simon’s glance. The android began playing with the sleeves of his cotton sweater, slowly cuffing the bottoms over in perfect folds. Markus only grew more attentive.

“You never really did tell me what your life was like before Jericho,” he stated calmly.

“Oh yeah?” Simon replied, straightening out his shirt. Markus nodded. He grinned sheepishly, nodding his head down in a way that tilted the crown of his glittering hair into the sun.

“I haven’t told anyone,” He admitted, another chuckle escaping his lips. This one was stiff and strained. Markus picked up on the slight uneasiness of his friend but noted his relaxed demeanor. Markus deemed it fine to continue pestering.

“Why is that?” he asked, staring into Simon’s detached face. It was normal for him to gaze around during conversation-- so much so that North often teased him about it. He was looking at the ground now, several feet below. From so far away, the wasteland looked like another world.

“I don’t really know,” Simon said into the chasm below him. “It never occurred to me to talk about it. And no one has ever really asked.”  Markus straightened his back, catching Simon’s eyes once again. Markus’ sudden posture caused Simon to unfurl his legs in response, permitting more space between the two.

“Well, I’m asking. Shoot,” Markus said gently. Simon smiled again, letting out a small huff. He ran a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know Markus. It’s been two years, it just feels strange to just start talking about it now,” he admitted, eyes peering at Markus.

 _Two years_. Markus had only found Jericho six months ago, and couldn’t imagine the stress he’d feel from keeping the truth about his past away from his friends for that long. Yet here Simon sat, the inevitable trauma of deviance filed somewhere in the “two years ago” of his mind, or, even worse, at the forefront of his thoughts, left to ferment for the past twenty-four months of his life. Suddenly, Markus felt guilty for not asking Simon about himself sooner.

“It feels so much better to talk about happened though. It’s almost like a release. Like letting something go,” Markus said, remembering the unexpected lightness he felt the first time he spoke of Carl to North, long before the end of the revolution. She had shared his pain and reassured him of his doubts. The memories stayed with him, but their heaviness began to decrease. Simon deserved to feel the same way.

“Yeah?” Simon sucked in air, if only to feel the way it tickled his tongue.

“Of course,” Markus replied. Simon looked around again, hearing the wind pick up quickly and gradually slow down again. “Part of me coming to terms with what happened to Carl… Realising that it wasn’t my fault… Was because of sharing my story with you and the others. You all helped me to analyze and understand the situation in a way I wasn’t able to on my own. And I feel so much better,” Markus said, softly placing a hand on Simon’s forearm. “You can tell me anything.”

The right corner of Simon’s mouth pulled into a sort of side-grin, and he bashfully pulled his arm away and used the hand to brush through his hair once again. He straightened his shirt absentmindedly and looked at Markus once more.

“Yeah, okay,” he remarked quietly. Silence followed and Simon’s eyes drifted slowly down below again. He was quiet for about a minute, and Markus began to wonder if Simon was really okay with sharing. Embarrassment welled up inside of him as he realized that he may have pushed too hard and made Simon genuinely uncomfortable. Markus’ lips began to part in an attempt to relieve his friend of the pressure of unloading on him, when Simon suddenly uttered a sentence.

“I was a domestic assistant for a young married couple,” he stated quietly. Markus closed his lips. At this point, it was clear that Simon wasn’t going to look back up. Markus understood and silently listened.

“Lauren and Matthew,” Simon went on. He sucked in another breath of air,

“They had just moved to Detroit, all the way from Florida. They hated the snow and the cold. They were planning for a baby.

“Lauren was an interior designer and a real estate agent. Matthew was an accountant and… and they were saving money for a baby after they bought me,” Simon repeated himself, tugging at the sleeves of his sweater. Noticing the damage done, he re-cuffed them and continued.

“They were very kind people. Really, I was lucky. Kind of like you, Markus… I felt like I had a family. Even if I didn’t understand that yet.

“Everything was more than fine, and they took to me very well. Matthew liked me especially… he talked to me like I was human. So did Lauren sometimes, but… he did it when there was no one there. Normal, human conversations about the news and the weather, not instructions… even when he didn’t have to. I guess, looking back, he was fascinated with me. I couldn’t tell though, y’know? I was running on a program, saying things to make him feel content, entertained-- satisfied with his product. At first, I was still a machine,” Simon said, his words slowly picking up the pace. Markus nodded, entranced.

“A couple months later, Lauren was pregnant. She really wanted a girl. He wanted whatever she wanted. Lauren was always the leader, the designer, the boss. Matthew and I… we just followed. We started to set up the nursery. Lauren started making friends, and soon other women were coming over and talking and drinking wine while Lauren drank juice. She hosted so many parties, Markus. Her friends didn’t notice me, and they didn’t notice Matthew either,” at this point he was lost in thought, his LED an eternal yellow. He didn’t notice Markus’ small nods and piercing stare.

“Matthew and I… our talks happened more and more. They moved from little subjects to different things… gossip that his boss had been arrested for abusing his wife, books he read about modern psychology, his sister’s addiction… He talked with so much passion. A passion that Lauren didn’t even notice… that _I_ didn’t notice, at first. Looking back, I think I remember having thoughts-- taking notes. Not because they would improve our future dialogue, but because I found him interesting. Things like his love for paper books and push-button calculators… Items that were innate to every other human, he took a fondness to. Maybe that’s why he took a fondness to me,” Simon said, pausing in thought. Markus had fallen into a slouch again but didn’t move, as it brought him closer to Simon and his words.

“Then we had a baby shower. Matthew took off from work to set up because it was a Friday. Lauren spent the first half of the day out with her friends. Matthew started complaining, but it wasn’t about work this time. He startled me because he said something like: ‘It’s kind of fucked that Lauren isn’t here to help us.’ Which was weird because he never complained about his wife, and he had never sworn to me before. Then he asked me what I thought about it. That’s the first time I remember thinking ‘hey, maybe this isn’t fair,’” Simon let out a quick laugh. “Isn’t that funny? I first learned injustice from a lovers' quarrel, not from the lack of autonomy of my very being.” Markus smiled, noticing Simon ease into their conversation. His head lifted to the sky, his eyes still not meeting Markus.

“So anyway, I’m like, ‘Yeah Matthew, that seems unfair to me.’ And then he starts to unload a bunch of things on me. He tells me that he met her in college at Florida State University and that she was a cheerleader. He tells me that she’s always been all about keeping appearances, and that’s why she’s out with her friends so much. She made him propose in the middle of a crowded restaurant in Hawaii. He said he loved her a lot, but… she was pushing him. He couldn’t keep up with her, the baby stuff _and_ work. And she barely listened. He had so many bottled up emotions, but he kept quiet. For everyone else, at least.

“Matthew said something to me that day. He told me that I was great at listening. That I was a good friend, as good as any he could make at work. I remember smiling, but I think that time it was real. Something warm was in me. Something that wasn’t mechanical, you know?” Markus bobbed his head slowly.

“That’s what started it, I think. Each time we talked, I felt warmer and warmer.

“ I think that deviance is a slow process that churns into one big decision…  and I think those moments were the pushes that allowed me to make that choice. The little ones, like buying paper books along with groceries and seeing his face light up, or seeing the ease in his expression after he told me his insecurities. Watching him brush his teeth on the way downstairs when he was late for work, or the times that’s he’d have me solve math equations for him just to hear me recite a string of numbers. Making his chai coffee each morning at six-thirty, before he came downstairs for breakfast. Sometimes he told me jokes, and somewhere in there, automated laughs became real. He gave me glimpses into humanity.” Markus understood Simon completely, sensing the parallels between his own past and his friend’s.

“Then one day, he got in a fight with Lauren. It was about the gender reveal party. Matthew wanted to invite his family… they were in town, I think. Lauren said there wasn’t enough room. She was screaming a lot, slamming doors and pointing fingers. Lauren called him selfish. She left the house, but Matthew stayed. At first, he was sitting quietly in a chair in the living room… the one he liked to read in. But he wouldn’t talk, he just stared… he was experiencing something I didn’t understand yet. Looking back, I can only assume he was enraged; Lauren had never been so rude before.

“Then he started talking to me. And… he...he started crying.  He was sobbing and I felt his pain… it hurt to see him like that. I felt my eyes get wet… it was the scariest feeling.

“Matthew noticed my hurt. He took my hand. He…” Simon trailed off. He felt the familiar wetness and quickly rubbed at his own eyes to stop a tear from leaking out. He was embarrassed, and Markus could tell. Markus gently patted Simon’s thigh, saying what he needed to without words.

 _Take your time._  
Simon went on.

“He said he loved me. He said he knew it was crazy. He said he didn’t want the baby, he...he…” Simon’s head fell into his hands. He breathed in deeply, feeling the same tantalizing emotions that he had two years ago. Markus stayed quiet, allowing Simon to recollect himself. He knew he needed to tell this story. After a minute of nothing but the sound of wind and Simon’s shaky breath, the boy continued.

“That was the moment I turned deviant. I didn’t know what to do, Markus. I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to make _myself_ happy. I broke my program… to kiss him,” Simon felt himself go cold. He looked at Markus, who had been watching attentively the whole time. Quickly, he looked away.

“You,” Markus spoke up. “You were in love with him,” he said, enamored. Simon choked on his words a bit before answering.

“I was. I didn’t know it at first, but I was in love with him the whole time. From the moment he took time away to spend with me… Like no human was _supposed_ to…

“We kept it a secret. When Lauren was away with friends, or when she was out making a sale… That’s when we were together. He was so warm, and he kissed me gently. He was interested in me and my thoughts, and I told him I didn’t really have many yet. Any thoughts I did have were all about him. He had green eyes and reddish hair… the color of bricks almost. I started a file on things that were the same color as his skin… sand, dough, sometimes strawberries… I was obsessed with him. So much so that I had to look away when he talked to Lauren. When he called her ‘honey’, it made my blood boil. She didn’t _deserve_ it,” Simon was tugging at his sleeves again, pulling them up to his elbows, pushing them down, cuffing them, and then tugging again. It was a tick that Markus never really took note of before this moment.

“Everything was fine until her ninth month. She was angry all the time. She hated showings, she hated her friends, and she started doing irrational things. Breaking dishes, skipping work…

“Two weeks before her due date, she was supposed to have a showing at nine… She left the house at eight, and we didn’t expect to see her until eleven…” a lone tear escaped just past Simon’s lid and fell into the fabric of his shirt. He let out a nervous giggle, muffled by the thick pain in his voice. Markus again held his forearm. They both waited a moment.

“She came home early. At nine. We were on the couch, I was tangled in his arms. His lips were on mine, we…” He bit the silicone in his cheek.

“She was so angry. She was screaming, I had to cover my audio processor. It was just too much,” Simon said, his hands grabbing his forearms. He squeezed and turned away.

“She wanted to _hurt_ me. To _kill_ me. She had a kitchen knife, she chased me, she said I was a waste of money,” The tears were free now, and landed lazily along his bare arms. Markus stole his hand and squeezed.

“She had her hand over me--I’ll never unsee the knife above my head. But he… he intercepted. He came in between me and the knife, and she stabbed him… In the chest...

“She didn’t mean to-- she started screaming. It was the worst sound I’ve ever heard, I tried to delete it from my mind. So many times I’ve tried…” Simon trailed off once more.

“He told me to run. And because he told me to, I did. I left the house, and I ran until I needed a charge. That’s when I found Jericho. By accident… I was just following his last order,” Simon rolled both of his sleeves down. His face was wet. His breath was just one long, continuous inhale, barely loud enough to hear.

“If I had stayed, I could have saved him. Taken him to the hospital. I don’t know if he’s still alive, Markus… I think about it every day,” Simon’s words muddied. He quickly covered his eyes with the length of his sleeve, his body shaking with each sob, the sound of his pained crying echoing in the windy air.

Markus felt an ache in his soul. He watched the anguished android in front of him, understanding only a fraction of his emotion. Simon was different than him and the others… he had experienced love before he experienced loss.  Markus didn’t know if that was worse… Simon felt the pain of everything he had built-- the one person he knew, being pulled from him. He didn’t even have time to ponder the meaning of his own existence-- he knew who he was living for. The extent of his choices: his inability to decide during the revolution, the long amount of time it took for him to decide to reclaim his own freedom, all began to make sense to Markus.

His hands traveled along the length of Simon’s back before pulling him in close, harshly. He hugged his friend closely, so closely that he could feel his thirium pump quickly rattling away.

He reached for Simon’s hand. Simon intertwined his fingers through Markus’, feeling the skin on them slowly dissolve. Suddenly he was leaking-- every thought, every emotion-- the pain, the coldness, the warmth-- all escaping the vault of his mind as they transferred away.

Markus had never felt anything like it. He had felt love before. He knew that he loved Carl, and that he loved his new home in Jericho. But the emotion that slipped through Simon’s fingers was entirely new. It quickened his breath and brought him to tears; it was the deepest, purest feeling he had ever experienced.

Still holding onto his hand, Markus released the hug. He stared into Simon's eyes. A gust of wind tugged at the water in them, and tufts on blonde hair danced with the air. Markus blinked.

It felt like he was staring into two blue oceans that belonged to another person, with a feeling that hadn’t been real until Simon invented it for him. Images of Lauren came and went, and files for Matthew passed in abundance: his favorite jokes, the classes he took in high school, the family he kept in touch with. His red hair. The way he smiled constantly, paralleling Simon’s perpetual grin. Markus absorbed it all.

And then Simon let go, quickly extending the fingers on his hand and pulling away. He rolled his sleeves down, both a little damp, and then cuffed the ends. In a hurry, he stood.

He backed off the titanium, still facing Markus with each stride.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shown you that. I,” he paused. He watched Markus rise, straightening both of his legs underneath him. The wind picked up again, the soft whirring turning into a ferocious whistle, so loud that the two androids had to mute the sound. The metal beneath the two bobbed slightly. Markus outstretched a hand, feeling the soft and firm skin of Simon’s cheek.

“I’m glad you did,” Markus said, leaving his hand there. He was no longer receiving information. The lingering emotion-- the love that Simon felt-- remained in him still. It was a physical feeling as well, but Markus couldn’t quite diagnose it in his system. He just knew that yearned to feel the feeling again, in the same intensity that he had just moments before. He’d do anything.

He watched Simon’s glossy irises reflect light, bringing it in and leaving a neon hue. He watched his blonde strands get rudely misplaced by the breeze, but Simon didn’t rush to fix it this time. He returned the glance, relaxed yet vulnerable. Scared, but liberated.

_This was freedom._

“Me too,” Simon breathed. He reached up to feel Markus’ textured hand on his face. They both stood quietly on the plank, feeling the liberty of release and the relief of letting go. The sky was clear. It was fitting.

“Thank you Markus.” Simon lowered his hand. He ran it through his hair, looked down at his feet, and smiled again.

“Thank you, Simon. For showing me who you are.” Markus let his hand lower to his friend’s shoulder. The wind slowed, and Markus gave him a reassuring pat. The intense feeling of love didn’t cease, and Markus still felt fixated on Simon. In a final act of consolation, he pulled him in once more.

The air smelled of maple trees. Simon smelled of detergent and a little bit of thirium. Markus curled his fingers around the soft, navy cotton of his sweater.

 _Yes_ , he thought to himself.

_This was freedom._

 


End file.
